EVE Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

Solo PvP in EVE Online has more in common with fishing than anything else. You set the hook, possibly with some bait, and you wait. Sometimes the fish gets you, instead. But by lurking in a likely spot, with the right ship and a healthy dose of patience, you can wait until the perfect target of opportunity arrives, and increase the likelihood of your victory.

This article covers the basics of how to set up your one man ambush, a basic guide to what you can and cannot safely fight, and tips on what to engage or refrain from engaging. Also covered is a very basic guide to using mobile warp disruptors and some tips about avoiding counter-ambushes.

Readers may wish to review the Ten Ton Hammer guide to Flying Stealth Bombers In EVE Online.

The Gist of the Procedure

Mobile warp disruptors are immobile items that trap ships. Perfect for ambushes.

The idea here is that you set up a mobile warp disruptor to snag incoming traffic. You then guard the area in a cloaked stealth bomber, waiting for a suitable target to fall into your trap. When something you can beat warps into your bubble, you kill it. When it is not vulnerable, you remain cloaked, safe from harm. If the bubble is destroyed by some annoyed traveler, you can simply replace it from a conveniently located secure container. If you have friends to camp the bubble with you, so much the better, though steps must be taken to avoid spooking any potential prey.

The Site of the Crime

You don't want a main thoroughfare for this. You want something a bit out the way, but where people still live. It needs to be null-sec, so that you can use mobile warp disruptors, since they do not function in high-sec or low-sec. Pick a gate that's not within 14 AU of another gate, and ideally one that connects two separate regions or constellations, and is thus less likely to have a planet nearby for people to warp to for scanning purposes. Lots of experienced travelers will have bookmarked locations near a gate for scanning, purposes, but just as many travelers do not, and will have to warp directly to the gate.

If your location is based at a too busy site, you may attract unwelcome attention, and the site may become untenable for this sort of fighting as gankers will eventually stick around and try to trick you into engaging them in a battle. Conversely, if you set up in a dead end where nobody lives, it's going to be boring work. The key is finding a balance between traffic and lack of traffic.

Mobile Warp Disruptors: The Basics

Mobile warp disruptors are items that can be carried in a ship's cargo, and then released in space, where it can then be anchored (though not too close to a station or gate). There are bubbles of various sizes, with the smallest being called a 'Mobile Small Warp Disruptor I'. These "bubbles," as they are sometimes called, prevent warping out when a ship is within their radius. They also "intercept" and pull in any ship that tries to warp to a location along the same plane at them. For example, if you warp from a gate to a second gate at 100km, and anchor a bubble there, anybody that attempts to warp to the second from the first gate will instead end up at the edge of its radius, unable to warp until it moves outside the bubble or blows it up.

There is a lot more to placing bubbles if you want to get advanced or fancy, but for our purposes dropping a bubble 100km off a gate will suffice. Any ships moving in a straight line that passes through the bubble will instead end up at the edge of the bubble, temporarily helpless.

Larger bubbles, or those that are placed more effectively, can pull in ships from more angles of approach. Large enough bubbles can even surround gates, forcing anything that jumps in to either make a run for the edge of the bubble, or to desperately scramble back toward the gate for an escape. Larger bubbles can often cost a pretty penny, especially the tech two varieties.

In order to use a bubble, you will need to train at least Anchoring II, and probably higher if you ever want to use larger or tech two bubbles.